1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and system for content distribution. In particular the invention relates to the modelling of the geographic factors in the distribution of news content.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The “background” description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the present invention.
Many content items have an interest value which corresponds to some extent with the geographical location of the content consumer. Thus when modelling the distribution of news content, news publishing platforms typically seek to characterize content as of “local” interest or of “regional” interest. In each case the driver is the need to provide timely reports that are geographically relevant to the readers of news content. These models however determine geographic relevance as a function of geographic proximity to the reader, with limited success.
In a typical scenario, a reader subscribes to a web-based news publishing service. Using a username and password to authenticate access, the reader then uses a web interface such as an internet browser application, a dedicated application (such as an “app” for a touchscreen tablet device). The web interface delivers news articles in accordance with search terms entered by the user or optionally articles selected by virtue of their novelty and/or their relevance to a known attribute of the subscriber. One attribute of a subscriber might be their location: for example a location as determined by the billing address for the subscription, a location provided by the user in response to a query, a location calculated from a satellite location system reading (e.g. GPS, Galileo, etc), or the current location inferred from the access point from the user device to the internet (i.e. WiFi access point IP address, a cell ID in a cellular radio access network).
Conventional web-based publication of news where a single location attribute is used to determine relevance can be crude, reflecting only news articles for which the article is relevant to that single location. Furthermore the user may have little control over the single location with which he is associated.
A more sophisticated method for determining geographic relevance of content is therefore desirable.